Blues and pinks

The girl who sang the blues finished her pleas for a new car, a color TV, and a night on the town. The player shuffled down a song and the unmistakeable sounds of the E-Street Band took her place. The Boss began to sing from his soul and then his harmonica plucked yours loose to hauntingly tag along as he raced down the streets.

Blue flashes sparked off the dull red glow of the taillights shining in the windshield as you pressed firmly down on the gas pedal and sped through the morning gloom. You didn’t mean to speed but you couldn’t help it either. The car was trying to catch up to your soul as it flitted through memories of your past and visions of your dreams.

The Jack of Hearts, standing on the sidewalk next to a mangled motorcycle, his leg in a cast, caught your attention. A crystal clear image bursting from the blurred edges but then you turned back to the road, back to the pursuit, back to the chase you’d been on before he’d caught your eye. Bruce’s voice didn’t allow time for distractions. There was too much urgency. There was too much at stake.

The lights streamed into continuous lines of red. Other colors swirled away to be swallowed by the darkness. A warm glow on the horizon heralded the imminent arrival of dawn, but its time hadn’t come yet, and there were still miles to travel before it did…

Bianca’s screaming behind Bruce’s plea echoes into your head. You can”t shake the memory, instead you press the pedal down a few more millimeters. Finally, finally you reach the town. Luckily your destination is within a few lights. You stop outside the doors of the building and leave the car. You can deal with such trivial matters as parking later. Rushing inside you find Natalie waiting for you. Relief floods her face as she quickly hugs you. She looks out the doors to see your car. She quickly tells you to go to the fourth floor, room 418, then takes your keys.

You round the corner at a sprint and find the elevators. The wait nearly drives you mad, which is nothing to what the muzak does once the elevator arrives. Are there still elevator operators? There must be, you don’t remember any elevator ever running this slow in your life. Clearly someone is behind this. What feels like hours later the bell dings and you exit out quickly looking for the room signs. You hear an all too familiar voice screaming and abandon that search. Her screams are like a siren’s call and you easily find the room.

There your wife is pacing and yelling at her brother. Bruce sees you and jumps from his seat. He is beyond done dealing with his hormonal sister. He gives you a pat on the back on his way out of the room. Your wife finally sees you and instantly she is calm. Her bad mood replaced with a teary eyed smile. She waddles over to you and gives you a hug. Well tries to at least, the bulging stomach still makes it difficult, but that will soon change.

“How long until they come?” You whisper.

She beams and caresses her belly, “Any time now, the walking is helping.”

“Well then, lets go for a stroll shall we my dear?”

You take her hand, just as shyly as you did on your first date, and pace in circles around the room. As the dawn finally breaks so does the waiting. Your wife goes into labor and within fifteen minutes of one another your daughters are born. You can’t imagine a better way to start the day. Although your father has told you there will be plenty more days that feel just like that ahead. You smile, excited to live each and everyone to their fullest.